Unturned is, in my opinion, a great game, especially for an early access game. It's one of the best survival games I've played in a while. Scavenging weapons, supplies, running away from/avoiding zombies, this game feels like a true survival game.

Like any game, though it does have its pros and cons, I mean, nothing's perfect, right?

The Pros:

First, let's talk about the weapons.

Like in any zombie game, weapons are essential. They're what you need to put the ugly idiots down, and I have to say, this game has the best weapon customisation I have seen in forever. You can pick up attatchments from the ground and put them on your weapons. Have an Outfield? Slap on a zoom scope and you have a sniper rifle. If you're feeling stealthy, you can even place a silencer on it. Almost every weapon can accept almost any attacthment (not including magazines) and it does offer seemingly limitless customisation options.

What's that? You don't have a scope? No problem, just take two duct tape and a binoculars, craft them, and BAM! Instant scope. Doesn't have a reticule, but hey, nothing a tactical laser can't solve, right? It's this kind of creativity in a game which makes me want to play more, to see what new creation I can come up with next.

It is kind of funny though that you can place like a 12x zoom scope on a pistol, which looks hilarious.


Let's talk about the second pro, which is the skills that you can level up.

As you kill zombies, you gain experience, which you can use to level up certain skills. Ranging from increasing your stamina to reducing your rate of dehydration/starvation, the skills aid you in your survival experience. Keep in mind that if you die, your progress is wiped clean. Survival is important to keep your skills leveled up.


Speaking of survival, that brings me to my next pro, the survival experience.

Most zombie games have a health bar... and that's it. Not in Unturned. You have a starvation meter, an dehydration meter, an illness/disease meter and a stamina meter. When starvation, dehydration or illness reaches 100%, you will slowly start losing health until you drop dead on the ground. Let me tell you one thing: standing around will NOT stop the dehydration/starvation meter from increasing, so it's important to keep moving, however, try not to abuse your sprint and jump, as such actions drain the stamina meter.

To prevent an untimely death from the likes of dehydration, hunger and illness, you need to drink, eat and take medicine. However, there are some foods and drinks that are mouldy, which increase your illness meter. You might want to keep some Purification Tablets, Vitamins and Vaccine on standby if you have no choice but to consume mouldy products. Your illness can also be increased if you get hit by a zombie, so watch out.

Moving on, the survival experience also includes... well, surviving as a whole. As a survivor, you only start out with a flashlight, a chocolate bar and some apple juice. Not exactly enough for survival. You will spawn in a random location every time, but the spawn points are, thankfully, relatively close to towns or camps or bases. Depends on how lucky you are. The first thing you want to do is get a backpack to increase the number of items you can carry, because four slots of inventory space with three already taken up by your starting items are definitely not enough, unless you enjoy constantly dropping items. After that, look for a weapon. Your hands are not exactly optimal zombie fighting gear. What you do from here on is all up to you. You can build a fortress, fortify an already existing building, be a nomad a constantly travel, your choice. This is what I feel should be the zombie survival experience a zombie game should have, and it makes Unturned feel unlike any other game I've played before: You can choose what you want to do.


However, like any game, Unturned has its flaws... unfortunately.
First and foremost is the problem that makes the game way too hard even on the Bambi difficulty setting: the Zombie AI.

Zombie AI isn't too hard to program, all you have to make them do is charge at you, right? Well, in this game, it would actually be better if they didn't because Zombies are RIDICULOUSLY overpowered.

First of all, they will chase you FOREVER. They never stop for anything, they don't grow tired of chasing you, and, I think the only person that grows tired is me because I have to run away from them. They can chase you from one end of the map to the other, provided you don't die of dehydration or starvation first. There are only three options you can take to stop them from chasing you:

1)Get in a car and flee.
2)Kill the ugly bastards.
3)Die.

Does that sound like fun to you? Yeah, maybe if you have a bigass macinegun and mow down the zombies, then it sounds like fun. However, it's especially annoying if you are just starting out. If you're heading into town to find supplies after you've just spawned, more likely than not, you will encounter zombies and you will have to fight them with your bare hands. There are even zombies that run faster than you can sprint!

Second of all, they can kill you within a matter of seconds. Even one zombie can take away all of your health in two seconds flat, and that's because there's no post-hit invincibility. When they hit you, they can hit you again immediately. What's more, if you're forced to melee with them, it is SUICIDAL. You have to be at the same distance as their attack range. They are likely to hit you at least once if you fight them with your fists.

Thirdly, zombies in this game seem to posess superhuman hearing. Unless you are crawling around at the speed of molasses, they will hear you from a ludicrous distance away from you.

I have to say though, that this game makes me scared of zombies; something a game has never done to me in forever. However, it achieves this through cheap Zombie AI, which is not exactly fair.


Another con is that supplies are extremely rare, especially medical and military supplies. How am I supposed to survive if I can't find what I'm supposed to find to survive? Health packs are rare, anti-biotics and vitamins are rarer, good weapons are almost impossible to find and good luck trying to find ammo for your gun. I know it's a zombie apocalypse, but can't I in the very least least stand a bit of a chance?

However, this did teach me one thing: be resourceful, so it isn't entirely a bad thing, it's just annoying that when I need the supplies the most, I can't find them. A game doesn't have to be punishingly difficult to teach players life lessons.


The tutorial is also a bit disappointing. It doesn't teach you the mechanics of crafting and upgrading your skills. Such features would've been great to have in the tutorial. Speaking of crafting, I find that crafting is confusing. I had to look up a wiki to search for crafting recipies.




All in all, I think Unturned is a great game, even for an Early Access. It has its flaws, but hopefully, they will be ironed out. I will give this game a 7/10. It's no perfect scorer by any means, but it is by no means not a terrible game, either. Just remember, the score is just for the EARLY ACCESS.

Unturned is, in my opinion, a great game, especially for an early access game. It's one of the best survival games I've played in a while. Scavenging weapons, supplies, running away from/avoiding zombies, this game feels like a true survival game. Like any game, though it does have its pros and cons, I mean, nothing's perfect, right? The Pros: First, let's talk about the weapons. Like in any zombie game, weapons are essential. They're what you need to put the ugly idiots down, and I have to say, this game has the best weapon customisation I have seen in forever. You can pick up attatchments from the ground and put them on your weapons. Have an Outfield? Slap on a zoom scope and you have a sniper rifle. If you're feeling stealthy, you can even place a silencer on it. Almost every weapon can accept almost any attacthment (not including magazines) and it does offer seemingly limitless customisation options. What's that? You don't have a scope? No problem, just take two duct tape and a binoculars, craft them, and BAM! Instant scope. Doesn't have a reticule, but hey, nothing a tactical laser can't solve, right? It's this kind of creativity in a game which makes me want to play more, to see what new creation I can come up with next. It is kind of funny though that you can place like a 12x zoom scope on a pistol, which looks hilarious. Let's talk about the second pro, which is the skills that you can level up. As you kill zombies, you gain experience, which you can use to level up certain skills. Ranging from increasing your stamina to reducing your rate of dehydration/starvation, the skills aid you in your survival experience. Keep in mind that if you die, your progress is wiped clean. Survival is important to keep your skills leveled up. Speaking of survival, that brings me to my next pro, the survival experience. Most zombie games have a health bar... and that's it. Not in Unturned. You have a starvation meter, an dehydration meter, an illness/disease meter and a stamina meter. When starvation, dehydration or illness reaches 100%, you will slowly start losing health until you drop dead on the ground. Let me tell you one thing: standing around will NOT stop the dehydration/starvation meter from increasing, so it's important to keep moving, however, try not to abuse your sprint and jump, as such actions drain the stamina meter. To prevent an untimely death from the likes of dehydration, hunger and illness, you need to drink, eat and take medicine. However, there are some foods and drinks that are mouldy, which increase your illness meter. You might want to keep some Purification Tablets, Vitamins and Vaccine on standby if you have no choice but to consume mouldy products. Your illness can also be increased if you get hit by a zombie, so watch out. Moving on, the survival experience also includes... well, surviving as a whole. As a survivor, you only start out with a flashlight, a chocolate bar and some apple juice. Not exactly enough for survival. You will spawn in a random location every time, but the spawn points are, thankfully, relatively close to towns or camps or bases. Depends on how lucky you are. The first thing you want to do is get a backpack to increase the number of items you can carry, because four slots of inventory space with three already taken up by your starting items are definitely not enough, unless you enjoy constantly dropping items. After that, look for a weapon. Your hands are not exactly optimal zombie fighting gear. What you do from here on is all up to you. You can build a fortress, fortify an already existing building, be a nomad a constantly travel, your choice. This is what I feel should be the zombie survival experience a zombie game should have, and it makes Unturned feel unlike any other game I've played before: You can choose what you want to do. However, like any game, Unturned has its flaws... unfortunately. First and foremost is the problem that makes the game way too hard even on the Bambi difficulty setting: the Zombie AI. Zombie AI isn't too hard to program, all you have to make them do is charge at you, right? Well, in this game, it would actually be better if they didn't because Zombies are RIDICULOUSLY overpowered. First of all, they will chase you FOREVER. They never stop for anything, they don't grow tired of chasing you, and, I think the only person that grows tired is me because I have to run away from them. They can chase you from one end of the map to the other, provided you don't die of dehydration or starvation first. There are only three options you can take to stop them from chasing you: 1)Get in a car and flee. 2)Kill the ugly bastards. 3)Die. Does that sound like fun to you? Yeah, maybe if you have a bigass macinegun and mow down the zombies, then it sounds like fun. However, it's especially annoying if you are just starting out. If you're heading into town to find supplies after you've just spawned, more likely than not, you will encounter zombies and you will have to fight them with your bare hands. There are even zombies that run faster than you can sprint! Second of all, they can kill you within a matter of seconds. Even one zombie can take away all of your health in two seconds flat, and that's because there's no post-hit invincibility. When they hit you, they can hit you again immediately. What's more, if you're forced to melee with them, it is SUICIDAL. You have to be at the same distance as their attack range. They are likely to hit you at least once if you fight them with your fists. Thirdly, zombies in this game seem to posess superhuman hearing. Unless you are crawling around at the speed of molasses, they will hear you from a ludicrous distance away from you. I have to say though, that this game makes me scared of zombies; something a game has never done to me in forever. However, it achieves this through cheap Zombie AI, which is not exactly fair. Another con is that supplies are extremely rare, especially medical and military supplies. How am I supposed to survive if I can't find what I'm supposed to find to survive? Health packs are rare, anti-biotics and vitamins are rarer, good weapons are almost impossible to find and good luck trying to find ammo for your gun. I know it's a zombie apocalypse, but can't I in the very least least stand a bit of a chance? However, this did teach me one thing: be resourceful, so it isn't entirely a bad thing, it's just annoying that when I need the supplies the most, I can't find them. A game doesn't have to be punishingly difficult to teach players life lessons. The tutorial is also a bit disappointing. It doesn't teach you the mechanics of crafting and upgrading your skills. Such features would've been great to have in the tutorial. Speaking of crafting, I find that crafting is confusing. I had to look up a wiki to search for crafting recipies. All in all, I think Unturned is a great game, even for an Early Access. It has its flaws, but hopefully, they will be ironed out. I will give this game a 7/10. It's no perfect scorer by any means, but it is by no means not a terrible game, either. Just remember, the score is just for the EARLY ACCESS.